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Trip Report (Summary)--Madrid, Seville, Barcelona

Just returned from Spain and wanted to post a quick report, will follow with more details later to provide any helpful hints I can.

Arrived early Saturday morning after overnight flight from JFK (Delta, no problems, and actually arrived in Madrid an hour ahead of schedule). Stayed at the Westin Palace, great location, very nice hotel, room was great. Also a great location, right in the museum triangle.
Since it was early and room was not ready, headed out for a walk and some breakfast--Chocolateria San Gines for churros and chocolate. It deserves its reputation, was fabulous. After breakfast, back to hotel (around 9:30 or so) and room was ready. Dumped our stuff and headed to hop on hop off bus to see some of the city and try to stay awake. Then to Retiro Park.

Next days in Madrid included the Rastro, the Royal Palace (were going to do guided tour but did not want to wait over an hour for the next one so just did audio guide, was pretty good) and museum tours of the Reina Sofia and Prado (with Madrid Museum Tours).
Took the hop on hop off bus so we could try to keep ourselves awake, saw some of the city.

Meals in Madrid at Lateral tapas bar, Mercado de San Miguel, La Barraca for paella.

Then train to Seville on the Renfe AVE. Flamenco show at Los Gallos, then tour of Seville (Alcazar, Cathedral and Barrio Santa Cruz. Used Luis of reallydiscover.com, was excellent. Stayed at the Alma Seville hotel, was very nice. Short stay in Seville, then a flight to Barcelona on Vueling, again all went smoothly with the travel.

Meals in Seville--Bar Giralda. I must say that this place is living on its reputation. Easily the worst meal we had in Spain all week. Also ate at Bodega Santa Cruz, and that was excellent, both atmosphere and food.

Barcelona--stayed at the El Palace Hotel, and really liked it. Beautiful hotel, great room, great location. Had a Gaudi tour (used OkaiBarcelona (Nestor), and really do not recommend them. We enjoyed everything we saw but as a tour guide he was no good. Could just have well done it on our own (and most of it we did). But loved all the Gaudi sites we saw--Casa Mila, Caso Batllo, Parc Guell, Sagrada Familia, Palau Guell. Did a walking tour of Montjuic--that was ok, interesting to see the olympic stadium, saw the magic fountain, not sure if I'd do the walking tour again. Next day walked La Rambla, absorbed the atmosphere, picked up some souvenirs. Columbus Monument. Next day we did a segway tour with Barcelona Segway Glides, and really enjoyed that. Learned some things, but just a fun way to see some of the city. Did a Picasso walking tour, that was not bad, ended up in the Picasso museum. Tour through the gothic quarter was ok, museum was best part. Then went to the FC Barcelona soccer game, and that was fantastic. Really recommend that experience if you have the opportunity.

Meals included Taller de Tapas (enjoyed that--I know it is a chain, but food was very good, did that our first night when we arrived as it was very close to hotel); a couple of meals at the Bocqueria on the Rambla, and that is just a wonderful place. Wanted to eat at Pinoxto there, but was just too crowded and could not get a seat. Got some food at many different stalls, and tried some of the great juices they had as well; also tapas at Ciudad Cuando (recommended by one of our guides) and it was very good--excellent patatas bravas; Quimet & Quimet, a good experience, great atmosphere and enjoyed the tapas.

Hope some of this can help others planning their trips. I'll be happy to answer any questions anyone has about any of the details.

We ate at TAller de Tapas in Barcelona, too, & really enjoyed it. And saw most of the sites that you saw. Isn't Barcelona great??? We loved it! What was your favorite city? How long was your trip? Is there anything you would do differently?

Kwoo: Barcelona was our favorite out of the 3 cities. We were there 8 nights (3 in Madrid, 1 in Seville and 4 in Barcelona). I really would not do anything differently, except perhaps a different tour guide in Barcelona for the Gaudi tour. Ours was not great, but it did not damper our enjoyment of what we were seeing. I would have liked to have gone to Granada to see the Alhombra, but just did not have the time. Maybe on the next trip.

Happy: Yes, while our room was not ready when we first got to the hotel at about 8:15 am, it was ready when we went back at 9:30 or so, and that was great, just to get settled in a bit. Enjoy your trip.

almesq, great to read your report we are headed there in late December. Loved the tips on tours, in your research did you find other tours of Barcelona that would be worthwhile? As well did you have any safety concerns while in Barcelona? Keep reading about problems and as we are travelling with teenagers it changes things. We will be doing a similar itinerary but with 12 days so might visit Cordoba and Granada. What did you think of the Ave? We are flying into Barcelona and out of Madrid so the plan is to go from Barcelona to Seville via AVE thought it might be a nice way to see the country. Appreciate any advice

cbr: there were plenty of tours in Barcelona I would have loved to do, but only had 3 days. I originally was going to do a Montserat tour, that would have been at least a half day and did not want to lose the time in Barcelona as it was our first time there.
We always felt safe in all 3 cities, no problems at all, rode the metro, walked, etc. and no issues. We are from NYC, though, so are used to being in big cities. But I don't think you will find any safety issues.
We did it in reverse, went from Madrid to Seville to Barcelona. AVE from Madrid to Seville was great, right on time, very comfortable, no problems. Originally were going to do AVE from Seville to Barcelona also, but it is a 5 hour ride, so opted to fly instead, it was only a bit over an hour and was very easy also. Bought tickets online with Vueling, was also much cheaper than train.

There is so much to see there, and you have some extra time, so I'm sure you will have a great time. Happy to answer any other questions you may have.

I too traveled to Spain, France, UK and Scotland this summer. I use an electric scooter and carry crutches behind the seat with a crutch carrier. I can walk a bit, climb some stairs, etc. It sounds like I am a bit more mobile than you. So, if anyone reading this post would like to ask me questions about traveling with scooter, please do so. I went to Paris, Rennes, Bordeaux, Madrid, Valencia, Edinburgh and Thurso.
With you not being able to walk, I admire your courage. Traveling is very hard work and being handicapped compounds it. Glad you went and hope you continue to travel.

morning: I did buy my tickets online, through rail europe. I had tried on the renfe site, but each time when I got to the payment portion, it did not go through. not sure if it was a us bank issue as others suggest sometimes (but I was using an AMEX not issued by a bank, so not sure if that was it). So I did rail europe. they were not expensive tickts, so it was only a couple of dollars more to use them, so not a big deal, but wanted to get them in advance. train was pretty crowded too, so glad a i had them.

Did we spend a lot of time in Seville? No. Were we in Seville? Yes. I wish we could spend days and weeks in each place we go, unfortunately, that is not possible. we do the best in the limited time we have. If that is not acceptable to you, I am sorry.

almesq-thank you for the insight, we are also nyers, so used to a lot as well, but what is described on the web etc. ny has seen for quite some time. I remember alphabet city when it wasn't fashionable! Haven't said that I will check into Vueling vs the train. We wanted to avoid two trips to the airport in Barcelona and thought the train might be a fun way to see the country. I won't have much time in Seville either!

Please no offense almesq. But being Seville one of the cities with more World Heritage Sites in Europe, with flamenco, tapas etc, and so much more things. 1 day its like you were not there. Basically because for sure, many of the most fascinating things of the city could not be seen, in terms of time. Same thing I would say about Barcelona. But you gave Barcelona more days, which was a good desition. Barcelona and Seville are by far, my favourite cities in Spain.

We did se a flamenco show, Los gallos. It was good but at 2 hours a bit long. I hear Casablanca de la memoria is good too we did see the main sites, had good tapas would have loved to stay longer, really loved Seville. Next time and no offense taken entre, sorry if I gave a different impresion.

Thanks for the report; I dont' know why I didn't see it sooner. We're visiting Spain next month, so the comments are helpful.

We rarely take tours, but are considering Madrid Museum Tours for several hours at the Prado. Who was your guide? What did you think? Any tips or suggestions? We're very interested in art, so this will be a highlight of the trip for us.

I have La Barraca as a lunch possibility for us - what did you think of their paella?

Chocolateria San Gines, I have their hours at 10 AM to 7 AM. Is that correct? Do you recall what time you had breakfast there?

We've already purchased our train tickets for the Sevilla-Madrid portion of our trip. After trying unsuccessfully for two days to purchase them through Renfe, I found RailEurope had the tickets for almost the same price, and much easier to purchase through their site!

Thanks for the info, question we have 4 days in Madrid and 5 days in Barcelona planned. would like to take some of those days and go other places. I have two teenagers 14 and 17. They do like some history but they also like adventure snorkeling, fishing somthing maybe unque to spain. We fly into Madrid and will 9 days before we board a ship to greece. they also like amusement parks, but of course they have been to cedar point, universal etc in the US What do you think

Lexma--sorry, just saw your post. As to Madrid Museum tours, found them very helpful. We don't know a lot about art, so having the guide was great, learned a lot about spanish history through the art. I don't have his name with me but I believe I have his card at home, but he was the director of the program. I'll repost when I find it.
La Barraca--I thought the Paella was excellent. I had the shellfish paella, and it was loaded with shellfish, cooked perfectly. I really enjoyed it.
San Gines--it actually opens at 9 am. It is open all night, closes around 7 or 7:30, then opens again at 9. We got there right at the opening since that was our first morning and were just off the plane

1. Fly in to Madrid
2. Madrid : 3 Days
3. To Bilbao - San Sebastian : 3 Days (we can be based at Bilbao or San Sebastian with Day Trips to nearby attractions)
4. To Barcelona : 4 Days
5. To Valencia : 2 Days
6. To Ibiza : 2 Days
7. To Seville - Granada - Codorboa - Malaga : 5 Days (we can be based at Seville or Granada with Day Trips to nearby attractions)
8. Fly out from Madrid

Can somebody comment or provide valuable suggestions?

Willing to drop / add any city.

Or even Extend or Cut - Short # of Days in a particular city.

What should be our preferred mode of transport between the above cities with minimum total travel time including Check - in / lay over, etc. - Bus? Train? Air?

You should probably start a new thread on this topic, but as a short comment I don't think you're up for a "easy-going relaxed trip" with this program. I would concentrate on three areas, and would have chosen Madrid for some 3 days and a week in the Basque Country and Andalucía respectively.

Bilbao and San Sebastián are much more than bases for day-trips. Spend some two-three days in each and perhaps explore the wonderful coast between the two the rest of the time. Fly from Madrid to Bilbao in one hour, lots of departures each day (Iberia, Spanair and Air Europe). Direct bus between Bilbao (both the city center and the airport) to San Sebastián in 70 mins.

Bilbao to Sevilla with Vueling or Spanair in 80 mins. The distances between the cities you plan to visit in Andalucía are considerable, and doing them in five days would mean nothing but travelling. You might reduce travelling time considerably using the high speed AVE train system, more than half the time going by car/bus/normal train. Perhaps this way in a week: Sevilla to Córdoba with the AVE train in some 50 mins. From Córdoba to Málaga with the high speed AVE train in 55 mins.

Visit Granada with the Alhambra/the Cathedral from either Córdoba or Málaga, bus/normal train in some 90 mins.

From Málaga or Sevilla to Madrid in 2h 30 mins, also with the AVE train. Córdoba to Madrid would be some 1h 40 mins with AVE.

Please note that the AVE train tickets are less than half the price if bought in advance through renfe.com.

Here is updated info about four of my absolute favourite cities in Spain, all along your route:

vikassaraf - please start your own thread and I will respond in more detail. Your TA has suggesteda very busy trip with little time for relaxation. If you're using a TA for this trip I'd suggest finding another one that knows Spain.

In agree with kimhe - at most I'd visit 3 areas, perhaps even 2. You don't mention the time of year for your trip - this would weigh into my decision on which places to visit.